Wednesday, September 04, 2013

Well, of course if you build a parabolic reflector in the middle of town it's going to cause problems

A new building in downtown London has a concave mirrored surface as one of its sides. Predictably, it is causing problems:

A British property developer said Tuesday it was investigating after sun rays reflected from its half-finished London skyscraper melted parts of several cars, including a luxury Jaguar. ... Local businessman Martin Lindsay said he was distraught when he returned to his parked Jaguar XJ near the glassy tower in London's financial district to find the car's panels had warped along one side, while the wing mirror and Jaguar emblem on the front of the car had melted. ... He "could not believe" the extent of the damage...

But this bit really made me laugh:

The developers said the phenomenon was caused by "the current elevation of the sun in the sky", and that as Britain heads into autumn the problem should disappear.

These guys really should have paid more attention in high school physics class.

One might even use Stonehenge to predict the biannual appearance and disappearance of the solar death ray effect. There's a nice sort of irony in this, but then, Stonehenge was probably designed and built over a longer period; in a more casual work environment.